An interview with Ko Min Zaw Oo, public mobilization officer of Public Mobilization Subcommittee under the Democracy Movement Strike Committee-Dawei (DDMSC), about the education situation and the implementation of community-based free education schools in Dawei District.
The Democracy Movement Strike Committee–Dawei (DDMSC), born out of the widespread resistance against the military coup, remains at the forefront of the mass strike movement in Launglon Township, Dawei District.
The education subcommittee, established under the DDMSC, is focused on creating community-based schools in Dawei District and supporting the development of a free education system.
Karen Information Center (KIC) interviewed Ko Min Zaw Oo, the public mobilization officer of Public Mobilization Subcommittee under the DDMSC, about the education situation in Dawei District, the implementation of community-based free education schools, and the operation of these schools.
Q: First of all, please tell us what DDMSC is doing in the education sector, and how you started working on community-based school education?
A: We formed the DDMSC just last year. The main reason for its formation is that many children in our country are being deprived of their right to education. This situation has worsened because the military council has closed schools in most townships. As a result, some students are forced to study only in towns where the military council maintains strong control.
Due to the current situation, some students have had to move to town areas under stronger military council control in order to continue their education. This creates a difficult and challenging learning environment for them. In some cases, parents relocate to urban areas so their children can enroll in schools there. Others rent vehicles daily to transport their children from villages to town and back for classes. For children unable to attend school due to these challenges, some have turned to education services provided by the National Unity Government (NUG). However, some NUG-affiliated schools charge fees—though not very high—typically around 10,000 to 15,000 kyats per month. Because of these financial and situational hardships, many parents in our area simply cannot afford to send their children to school at all.
For example, if a family has about three children who need to attend school, the family might have to pay around 30,000 kyats per month. Among them, there are children facing greater difficulties — they have to work to support their family’s basic living expenses. These children have to lose their income for their families. There are many challenges like this. Our goal is to provide education to children who have no access it. That’s why we have formed an education subcommittee to carry out this work. Additionally, our schools are community-based village schools. The concept is that our education subcommittee provides the necessary support and assistance as needed.
However, our belief is that individuals or groups may exist today but might not be around tomorrow. That’s why it’s essential to build a strong, lasting commitment to community education for children. To achieve this, we need to establish a free education system where children can learn freely without any financial burdens. This is the reason we are implementing community-based free education.
Q: What kind of support do you provide to these schools, and how do you address the needs of teachers to keep the schools running?
A: For the schools we opened this year, some are fully supported by our subcommittee. However, in some cases, the local villages themselves have also stepped in to help. For example, if a school has six teachers, the village may set up its own education project to provide stipends for three of them. In some cases, the village also contributes as much as they can toward school supplies. What we aim for is to build truly community-based, free education schools. If the schools rely solely on individuals or specific groups, it may not be sustainable in the long run. There are educated young people — both men and women — in the villages.
Even when there are no trained teachers available, we provide teacher training and encourage capable young people to step into teaching roles. When it comes to finding teachers for our schools, we prioritize recruiting and empowering these local youths. Our goal is to ensure that students don’t have to pay for school fee and books— everything is meant to be completely free. What we’re working toward is building a community-based education budget, formed and managed by the community itself. With that, we form a school council made up of young local teachers and community members to run the school. Although our subcommittee does not participate in it, the youth from our group do help the council with its work as much as they can.
Q: In which townships and locations are you currently working in the education sector? Please tell us about the number of students, what education system you use, and what grades you teach.
A: For security reasons, there are some details we can’t disclose, but we currently have schools operating in four townships in Dawei District. As I mentioned earlier, some schools are receiving full support, while others are able to operate sustainably as community-based schools without needing full external support. Among these, we now have around 10 schools directly connected and working with us. As for self-reliant schools in the village, we support them by connecting them with teacher training programs. When we provide training to teachers from schools operated in collaboration with the education sub-committees, we also include teachers from self-reliant schools.
The number of students varies from school to school. However, if we add them all together, there are likely over a thousand students across the four townships. Most of the schools offer classes from KG to Grade 5, while some extend up to Grade 7. As for the teaching system, we use the new curriculum. While the standard curriculum is in place, additional courses are also included—particularly those related to environmental awareness and local context. The teaching approach is not just about rigid textbook-based instruction; instead, it’s centered around learning-based education. Rather than the old method of giving heavy homework, this new approach focuses on developing children’s critical thinking skills. In particular, we incorporate ROCP methodologies, which emphasize vocational and technical skills, helping children enhance their thinking and practical abilities for real-life applications.
Q: What types of challenges are faced here?
A: One of the challenges we face is that some children don’t even have to pay school fees, but due to their families’ economic difficulties, they have to work to support their families. Therefore, to help these children continue their education, even though we can’t support their families, we do provide basic food and essential supplies to those in need.
Another challenge we face is with providing ROCP training to the children — we have difficulties with the buildings and facilities needed for this. It’s important to have a good environment for learning. Additionally, as we work toward establishing a sustainable education system, we need to find local teachers in the area. Finding and recruiting these teachers, especially among the educated community members and volunteers in the villages, is also challenging. Providing financial support to them is another hurdle.
Q: Do you have any plans to collaborate with existing educational groups in the district?
A: Yes. There are community-based schools in some areas in Tanintharyi Region. We do have plans to connect with the teachers there. Additionally, in our Education Subcommittee, there are young people who have come from the education circle, and they work in the councils in an advisory capacity. However, the free community-based schools we are implementing are not directly controlled or dominated by our organizations. Instead, they are initiated and run by the local communities themselves.
Q: Recently, attacks on school premises have become more frequent. So, as schools under DDMSC, what kind of plans or measures have been put in place to protect students from dangers during school hours?
A: The children haven’t committed any wrongdoing. They have had the right to education since birth. The fact that they attend community-based schools rather than ones under the education subcommittee is also driven by concerns that going through the committee might expose them to additional pressures, risks, or harm related to the resistance movement. To be clear, these schools are neither NUG schools nor DDMSC schools. They are village schools, and we are only supporting their establishment. However, since none of these schools can guarantee complete safety for the children, when there are movements or activities related to the military council, we monitor the situation and inform those responsible for the schools as a precaution. That is the extent of what we can do at the moment.
Q: Community-based schools are also providing education to children with down syndrome (a developmental delay and intellectual disability). Please tell about it too.
A: For example, if the village has displaced children, it may include various kinds of children. We accept any child who comes. We accept and teach them in the same way that no matter what kind of child they are, they have the right to be taught in the classroom.
Q: What is the current situation of education for displaced children in Dawei District?
A: Some children are studying under the military council’s administration while some attend education programs under the NUG’s interim education system. Others are enrolled in the community-based schools we are currently implementing. However, these groups are not fully inclusive of all children yet. There are still challenges to achieving a truly all-inclusive education system.
For instance, even in implementing the free education system, as I mentioned earlier, there are still significant challenges. Many children of school age are struggling to access education. When their social lives worsen and economic difficulties arise, a large number of high school students drop out to go abroad for work. During the COVID period, 18-year-olds were still at the high school education level, yet many of these children ended up leaving the country to work overseas. What I want to say is that a considerable number of children are still losing their right to education.
Q: As a final question, what are the next steps for DDMSC in the education sector?
A: Our vision is to establish community-based schools in every village. We want to ensure the safety of children and provide them with access to education without any cost barriers. What we are currently implementing is the very demand that came from our student movement — to expand the free education system from primary up to middle school level. Even though we are only able to open around two-digit numbers of schools this year, we are committed to working with local communities in the future to gradually open more schools.
Sent by KIC